Aranwood Kennels in Mahwah bills itself online as “trustworthy indoor/outdoor boarding for dogs.” But the owner, 57-year-old Richard Dubarton, has been arrested and charged after the jarring find was made by a customer the week of Feb. 18.

“The caller stated he located a Dutch Shepherd dog which appeared to be in near-death conditions located inside a garbage bag, which was inside a dumpster in the parking lot,” court records state.

New Jersey Feb 21

Nearly 100 mistreated dogs seized from self-described animal rescue group in NJ: ASPCA

pets Feb 17

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Eight injured dogs rescued from suspected dog-fighting ring in NJ town

Miraculously, there is a bit of good news: The dog survived, police said.

Dubarton said “someone must’ve dumped it there.” Investigators said he got the dog months earlier from Irvington police after its original owner surrendered the canine.

Irvington officials had no comment, nor did the kennel when reached by phone by NBC New York.

Police said Dubarton has worked as an animal control officer in several New Jersey communities. That includes Plainfield, which said that after the Humane Society terminated its working relationship with the town in 2023, they started working with the kennel.

“We entered into a contract with them, hopeful that this partnership would provide a reliable and compassionate solution. However, recent developments have cast a shadow over this decision,” a statement from Plainfield officials on Thursday read. “Allegations of mistreatment within Aranwood Kennels have come to light, prompting an immediate investigation by our police department…in response to these disturbing reports, we acted swiftly to ensure the safety and care of our community’s animals, none of whom remain under the care of the implicated facility.”

Police said they have since recovered 37 dogs from Dubarton’s property. He locked “multiple dogs'” outside in sub-freezing temperatures for an extended period of time, according to court papers.

The animals taken away have since been vetted and taken to various rescue facilities, police said. Some of the rescued animals may have to be euthanized. An investigation is ongoing.

A voicemail for Dubarton was not returned. He is next scheduled to appear in court during the first week of March.

The grisly find came a day ago, shortly after noon, when Lakewood Township Police got word about an unconscious man inside the trunk of a car parked near Fairview Court. Responding officers found the man dead.

Prosecutors described the investigation as “active and ongoing.” They said there is no known danger to the public, and additional information will be released as it becomes available.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Olga Brylevskaya of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027, extension 4105, or Det. Austin Letts of the Lakewood Township Police Department at 732-363-0200.

In a statement ahead of Tuesday’s presentation, Murphy said his proposal was intended to “keep our state and economy moving forward.”

“Our budget proposal has been crafted to support the working people and families who keep our state and economy moving forward. And it will build upon our Administration’s commitments to lowering costs, creating opportunity, prioritizing safety, and above all, ensuring New Jersey remains the best place to raise a family,” he said in a statement.

In his opening remarks, Murphy addressed the struggles that Ukrainian families face overseas as well as the issues local families see when they look at their finances at the end of every month.

With the needs of families in mind, Murphy said that he wanted to present a budget plan that, he argued, will put more than $3.5 billion “back in the pockets of New Jersey taxpayers.”

In fact, Murphy said, he wants the budget proposal to provide a way for the state to “spend within our means, while stretching every dollar to protect our neighbors in need.”

“At a time when those at the very top are doing better than ever, many of our families are struggling to afford the basic necessities,” he said.

Efforts to save taxpayers money

In a statement from Murphy’s office, the plan is noted to include a proposed surplus of $6.1 billion, “while redirecting nearly 74 percent of the total budget back out into our communities in the form of grants-in-aid for property tax relief, social services, and higher education, as well as State aid to schools, community colleges, municipalities, and counties.”

In explaining his efforts that would, as he said, put money “pack in the pockets of New Jersey taxpayers,” Murphy argued that the proposed budget includes more than $3.5 billion in direct property tax relief.

The budget proposal, his office noted in a statement, funds the successful ANCHOR Property Tax Relief Program, which provided $2.2 billion to more than 1.9 million residents in the most recent filing season. 

This will be the third season of the ANCHOR program, which has provided more than $4 billion in direct tax relief in the past two years, his office said.

He said the budget also includes $82.5 million to maintain expanded eligibility for the Pharmaceutical Assistance for the Aged and Disabled and Senior Gold programs to further cut costs for life-enhancing – and life-saving – prescription drugs.

“From lowering the cost of prescription drugs to lightening the weight of property taxes, our budget will help more families save more money,” he said.

Investing in New Jersey’s youth

Also, Murphy’s proposed budget includes an increase of $908 million in direct K-12 aid for public schools, for a total of an almost $12 billion investment into the next generation.

He also said that the proposal would make universal pre-K a reality in New Jersey, by setting aside an additional $124 million for pre-K education, of which, he said, $20 million will be used to expand into new districts, creating over 1,000 new seats for children.

The proposal, he said, will also put $15 million towards investments to attract, train and retain teachers in the public school system and allocating more than $100 million to support Cover All Kids, a health coverage program for children.

The proposal, he said, also focuses on making sure children in New Jersey have enough to eat by providing $30 million towards free school meals.

“There are some politicians in other states who do not consider this a priority,” said Murphy. “Instead of feeding our kids they want to get rid of child labor laws and put our kids to work. Well, we do things differently here in New Jersey. We are ridding hunger from the lunchrooms and putting more kids in our classrooms.”

Dedicated transit funding

Governor Murphy hopes to add a dedicated funding stream for NJ TRANSIT through a cooperate transit fee which would hit the state’s wealthiest corporations with net taxable income greater than $10 million.

Small and medium-sized businesses would not be impacted, he noted, arguing that nearly 2,500 companies will see their taxes decrease.

This funding, he said, is intended to ensure service is maintained as ridership continues to recover from the pandemic while building upon major operational improvements.

Funds for pensions, parks and veterans

Along with these initiatives, Murphy said that his proposed budget would provide a $7.16 billion payment to the pension fund.

It also includes $120 million for the State Police Training Center and $ $70 million to support state parks, which would be used to revitalize Liberty State Park and break ground on the Garden State Greenway.

And, in an effort to protect veterans, the proposal also includes $21 million to convert veterans’ homes to single occupancy and another $2 million to provide new beds and medical equipment veterans’ homes statewide.

Overall, he said, the budget was designed to move the state forward as “the best place anywhere in America to raise a family.”

“We have crafted this year’s budget, letter-by-letter, line-by-line, to support the working families who have led New Jersey through hard times,” he said. “With our budget, we will make life more affordable for more families.”

A New Jersey man has been acquitted in a retrial in the beating death of a college student from Tennessee a decade ago.

Jurors in Middlesex County deliberated for five hours before acquitting Timothy Puskas of all charges Wednesday in the 2014 death of 22-year-old former Rutgers student William McCaw of Gallatin, Tennessee.

“I only wish my mother were still alive to see me cleared of this injustice,” Puskas said in a statement Thursday. He offered his “heart and prayers” to the McCaw family but said, “Contrary to what you have been led to believe, I did not assault nor kill your beloved son.”

McCaw had been walking home from a party before his body was found in deep snow in a New Brunswick backyard in February 2014. County prosecutors said he had been beaten to death with something like a crowbar or a wrench. He was attending Kean College but formerly attended Rutgers and frequently returned to the New Brunswick area.

Puskas was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to 40 years, but a state appeals court overturned the conviction in 2021, saying no physical evidence linked him to the crime and surveillance videos didn’t show any interaction between him and the victim. The appeals court also said prosecutors should not have been allowed to use as evidence a recorded conversation between the defendant and someone who died before the trial.

Defense attorney Joseph Mazraani tried to cast doubt on prosecution theories about the slaying and said other witnesses blamed his client to get lenient sentences for themselves. He said Puskas “wants to gather his life back together as best as he can” and called the case ”a devastating example of what happens when cooperators and informants are not closely scrutinized, when prosecutors are not held accountable and when law enforcement fail to investigate properly.”

A Facebook post attributed to the victim’s father, Bob McCaw, on a memorial site said jurors were not allowed under New Jersey law to know some things about the defendant and the case. He expressed gratitude to prosecutors for their efforts and said “the fight is always worth it and love always wins.”

New Jersey’s primary ballot design unconstitutionally favors candidates who have the support of political party leaders and should be scrapped, U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who’s locked in a primary contest for U.S. Senate against the state’s first lady Tammy Murphy, said in a federal lawsuit filed Monday.

The suit seeks to upend New Jersey’s unique primary ballot system in which candidates backed by political party leaders appear grouped together on the ballot, with challengers in separate columns, and takes aim at a system widely considered to be a crucial advantage in primary contests.

“New Jersey voters don’t want to be told who to vote for,” Kim wrote in a statement. “Jersey voters are tired of the broken politics that lets party leaders give their hand-picked candidates preferential placement on the ballot. This unfair process needs to end now. The people deserve a ballot like what every other state uses that is fair, democratic, and allows their voices to be the ones that determine who represents them.” 

It comes as Kim and Murphy are facing off in a primary to succeed Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, who faces federal corruption charges and hasn’t announced his plans on reelection. Murphy, whose spouse is Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, won the backing of county party leaders in the state’s biggest counties soon after she announced her candidacy. She has said she worked for those endorsements herself and didn’t seek her husband’s support.

Kim’s suit against county clerks who design the ballots seeks to implement the kind of ballot that much of the rest of the country uses, listing all candidates next to the office they’re seeking.

“When the choices of primary voters, who by law are the sole judges to determine a party’s nominee for the general election, are cynically manipulated by the Defendants, the result is anathema to fair elections,” the lawsuit says.

The issue has increasingly become a flashpoint, particularly among progressives, who have advocated for abolishing the so-called county line system.

Murphy spokesperson Alexandra Altman criticized Kim and called the lawsuit a “hypocritical stunt” aimed at furthering his career.

“Andy Kim doesn’t have a problem with the county line system, he has a problem with the idea of losing county lines — as he is perfectly happy to participate in the process when he wins,” Altman said in a text message.

A message seeking comment was left with the organization that represents county clerks.

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Ovidiu Dragos, 60, of Moorestown, New Jersey, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, promoting obscene material to persons under 18-years-old, stalking and harassment.

Dragos coached boys and girls tennis at the Cherry Hill Health and Racquet Club in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, as well as at outdoor courts in Cinnaminson and Moorestown. Investigators said Dragos showed a naked photograph of himself on his cellphone at least twice to a 15-year-old girl during group tennis lessons at the Health and Racquet Club.

Dragos also placed numerous letters, cards, poems and gifts in the girl’s tennis bag over a two-year period, investigators said.

Dragos was arrested in Moorestown on Monday by the U.S. Marshals. He was remanded to the Camden County Correctional Facility pending a pretrial detention hearing.

The Mohegan tribe will end its management of Atlantic City’s Resorts casino at the end of this year, both parties said Monday.

The move will conclude an agreement the tribe’s gambling arm, Mohegan Gaming Advisors, made with Resorts in 2012 six months after the casino’s co-owner, veteran gambling executive Dennis Gomes, died.

Gomes’ death left Resorts without crucial experience and know-how to compete in the ever-more-crowded northeastern U.S. casino market.

Mohegan’s successful operation of casinos in markets including Connecticut and Pennsylvania made it attractive to Resorts, which in 1978 became the first casino in the United States to open outside Nevada.

Now, Resorts says, the casino is able to stand on its own two feet.

“Mohegan has been a valuable partner, and we are grateful for their contribution to our success,” said Morris Bailey, who owns Resorts. “We entered into a management agreement with Mohegan at a time when Resorts faced many operational, economic and market challenges. Mohegan brought stability and direction to Resorts by helping to assemble a stellar management team which will remain in place. We are happy that, with Mohegan’s help, Resorts has reached a point where it is able to operate independently.”

As part of the 2012 deal, Mohegan acquired a 10% ownership interest in Resorts, which it will retain. Resorts became the first Atlantic City casino to be run by a Native American tribe.

“We’re extremely proud of our relationship with Resorts Casino Hotel and what we have helped accomplish,” said Ray Pineault, president and CEO of Mohegan. “We want to express our deepest gratitude to our Resorts team members, guests and the Atlantic City community for their support and dedication throughout our tenure as manager.”

Mark Giannantonio, Resorts president, praised Mohegan “for the outstanding partnership over the past decade.”

Resorts had $130.8 million in gambling revenue in 2012, according to state gambling regulators. That total increased to $163 million last year.

During the time Mohegan managed Resorts, the casino signed a deal with DraftKings sportsbook and launched an online operation — Resorts Digital, which took in over $822 million last year, an increase of over 50% from the previous year.

Cross-marketing between Resorts and Mohegan casinos will end at the end of this year, but Resorts plans to launch new marketing programs.

Mohegan Gaming Advisors is a subsidiary of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority.

In addition to Connecticut and Pennsylvania, Mohegan operates casinos in Washington and Nevada; Niagara Falls, Canada, and Inchon, South Korea. It also owns the Connecticut Sun WNBA team.

A 13-year-old boy was killed in a horrific car crash in Newark over the weekend, family and local prosecutors said.

Family members, who identified the victim of the crash as Edwin Ivan Martínez, told NBC New York that the tragedy unfolded just before 10 p.m. Sunday when he was returning home in a car with his cousin near the intersection of Montclair and Clifton avenues. It was here that Martinez’s family said the vehicle was t-boned.

According to family members, the boy was on the phone with his girlfriend at the time of the crash and she immediately called loved ones.

The family, who lives close to where the crash took place, raced to the location and his mother found him. Martínez was pronounced dead at the scene.

Family and friends are devastated over the loss of such a young life.

“I looked at him like my little brother,” Erlin Tuciros, Martínez’s friend, said trying to hold back tears. “I looked out for him as my little brother. I always played soccer with him. He always used to be in front of my house […] It’s just crazy to me to find out the it was him.”

Remnants of the crash could still be seen on Monday with pieces of the car and shattered glass in the intersection, as a growing memorial with candles, flowers, and balloons was placed at the site of the crash.

It is unclear what led to the crash. Prosecutors said an investigation is ongoing.

Guveiyian and the Haddonfield Bulldawgs were playing Washington Township Sunday night in the final four of the 7^th and 8^th-grade girls division of the ICBL Girls Basketball League in South Jersey.

With the score tied 37-37 with only a few seconds left, Guveiyian stole the ball, took a few dribbles and launched a desperation shot from beyond half-court. A camera rolled as her miracle shot hit nothing but net, winning the game for Haddonfield and sending the Bulldawgs to the championship, set to take place next Sunday.

Best of luck Bulldawgs!

Bergen County prosecutors say the 12:30 a.m. Palisade Avenue fire Monday is believed to be suspicious, though they didn’t elaborate, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.

The woman who passed away Tuesday, a day after the fire, hasn’t yet been identified. Manjit Kaur, 47, lost his life the same day. It wasn’t clear if the third victim was expected to survive her injuries.

No other details were immediately available.

Nearly 100 maltreated dogs were removed from a self-described animal rescue group in New Jersey, and two people are facing charges in connection to the condition of the canines, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The ASPCA said the organization helped in removing more than 90 maltreated dogs from the property of the self-described animal rescue group in Vernon Township on Tuesday, after being requested to do so by the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Vernon Township Police Department.

Gizela Juric and Ronald Colgan, owners of the property, were charged by Acting Supervising Assistant Prosecutor/Special Deputy Attorney General Brent Rafuse of the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office with six counts of animal cruelty charges in connection to two dead dogs found on the property and the failure to provide the animals with necessary care, the ASPCA said.

Juric was previously charged with animal cruelty on Feb. 2, in connection with the death of a fifth dog in her care.

Attorney information for Juric and Colgan was not immediately known.

“It’s clear these dogs were not receiving adequate treatment despite the fact that they were under the care of a self-described animal rescue group, and we commend the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Vernon Township Police Department for intervening to help end their suffering,” Teresa Ladner, senior director of Investigations for the ASPCA, said.

More than 90 dogs, including young puppies, were eventually seized by law enforcement after they were allegedly found living in squalor — among feces, urine and exposed to high levels of ammonia.

According to the ASPCA, some of the dogs had severely matted coats, while others were underweight and had untreated medical conditions like eye infections and other injuries. Several of the dogs on the property were living in cars.

Additionally, according to officials, dead dogs were also found on the property.

The ASPCA said it is transporting the dogs to its Cruelty Recovery Center, to receive medical care, behavioral treatment and temporary shelter.

There is growing frustration from voters in Atlantic Highlands who were called to testify in court Tuesday amid an ongoing challenge by the Republican runner-up in the 2023 mayoral election. The November race came down to less than a half-dozen votes — and now dozens who voted have been called before a judge, questioned one-by-one on the stand about where they live.

“I’m very concerned, it’s pulling the town apart.  We’ve been drug down here today, we lose a day of work, for something that’s basically nonsense,” said Frank Allsman. “We’re sitting in the courtroom and we’re all neighbors here.”

Mayor Lori Hohenleitner, a Democrat, won the race and had her swearing in ceremony in January.

“My opponent, who is a councilmember and colleague, is challenging the election from November. There’s been a recount — in fact in the recount I gained a vote — and now we’re in court months later and he’s challenging 40 of our neighbors,” said Hohenleitner.

But in a lawsuit, her challenger, James Murphy, called into question the results.

Murphy “hereby contests the certification of Ms. Hohenleitner as mayor on the grounds that illegal votes were improperly received and that legal votes were improperly rejected,” the lawsuit reads.

Murphy did not offer comment when contacted by NBC New York about the allegations.

One voter had to bring a stack of documents to the courthouse for his testimony.

“My Issue is I feel like I was accused of voter fraud and now everyone knows how I voted. I thought it was supposed to be secret,” said Dr. Michael Ferguson.

The judge hearing the case offered no decision on Tuesday. It is scheduled to resume Feb. 28.

“We’ve done nothing wrong. It’s upsetting that we’ve had to go through this, like our neighbors have had to go through it,” said Allsman. “It’s a small town, it’s always gonna come down to a few votes. But just because you lose doesn’t make the rest of us liars.”

The West Milford councilman, 32-year-old Matthew Conlon, was charged with criminal sexual contact relating to an incident on Feb. 4, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office announced Thursday.

Conlon, currently in the second year of his three-year term on the council, allegedly groped the man while he was asleep on a couch at a friend’s West Milford home, NJ.com reported.

According to a witness statement documented in an affidavit of probable cause, NJ.com said Conlon and the victim stayed the night at a mutual friend’s home on Saturday, Feb. 4. The victim reportedly asked Conlon to stop when the 32-year-old touched the man’s thigh while on the couch.

Then, on Sunday morning, the man woke up to Conlon’s hand inside his underwear, according to the affidavit.

NJ.com said Conlon and his attorney, as well as township leaders, did not respond to emails or calls requesting comment.

“On behalf of the township, we have no statement at this time except to say that the matter will proceed pursuant to law,” Edward R. Pasternak from Dorsey & Semrau, municipal counsel for West Milford, told the outlet Thursday night.

After back-to-back storms lashed the Northeast in January, rental properties Haim Levy owns in coastal Hampton, New Hampshire, were hammered by nearly two feet of water, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and causing him to evacuate tenants to safer ground.

“Put them in hotels and everything. So it was brutal, for everybody. And at the apartment I have no floors; I have nothing,” Levy said. “It’s really crazy. Not fun.”

Many scientists who study the intersection of climate change, flooding, winter storms and sea level rise agree the kind of damage Levy experienced was more of a sign of things to come than an anomaly. They say last month’s storms that destroyed wharfs in Maine, eroded sand dunes in New Hampshire and flooded parts of New Jersey still coping with hurricane damage from years ago are becoming more the norm than the exception, and the time to prepare for them is now.

Climate change is forecast to bring more hurricanes to the Northeast as waters warm, some scientists say. Worldwide, sea levels have risen faster since 1900, putting hundreds of millions of people at risk, the United Nations has said. Erosion from the changing conditions jeopardizes beaches the world over, according to European Union researchers.

Another storm brought flooding to Massachusetts and New Hampshire on Tuesday. In the Northeast, the problem of climate change is especially acute because of forecasted sea level rise here, said Hannah Baranes, a coastal scientist with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Climate Center in Portland, Maine. The state has already experienced 7.5 inches (19 centimeters) of rise since 1910 and is projected to have to manage 4 feet (1.2 meters) of sea level rise by 2100, she said.

These rising seas mean communities in coastal New England will need to make hard choices about when it’s responsible to rebuild, Baranes said. January’s storms, which flooded streets and washed away historic buildings, are a good example of the “type of severe event we need to be prepared for,” she said.

“This is a real moment to consider how much flooding is in several feet of sea level rise,” Baranes said. “And to consider when to rebuild, and in some cases whether to rebuild at all.”

New Jersey Feb 12

Schools of fish swim through flooded streets of Jersey Shore neighborhood

NYC Subway Jan 31

200 NYC subway stations have flooded in recent storms, 22 of which need major fixes: MTA

climate change Feb 5

Insurers such as State Farm and Allstate are leaving fire- and flood-prone areas. Home values could take a hit

The storms caused damage that coastal communities in several states are still struggling to clean up. President Joe Biden also recently issued a federal disaster declaration for some communities damaged by a wind and rainstorm in December.

January’s onslaught was devastating for working waterfront communities in Maine where dozens of docks, buildings and wharfs were damaged or destroyed, said Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the state’s Department of Marine Resources. He said the combination of back-to-back storms in the second week of January and high tides brought “damage like we have never seen before” in a state where waterfront industries such as commercial fishing are vital economic cogs.

Waterfront business owners have vowed to rebuild. But Democratic Gov. Janet Mills told the Maine Climate Council that the storms also provided a stark lesson that “resilience is not just repairing and rebuilding physical infrastructure.”

The governor tasked the council with developing a plan to address the impacts of climate change in the state. That could include strategies such as rebuilding piers higher than they used to be, planting more trees along waterfronts and constructing newer, more durable culverts, bridges and roads, speakers said at a January climate council meeting.

“It’s easy to think maybe this one storm was just an aberration. Or maybe the three storms we’ve had are just three off,” Mills said. “But what do we do about the future? We’re not just talking about riprap and wharfs, we’re talking about being ready in many ways.”

Even inland communities aren’t immune to flooding from weather events like the January storms. The storms stirred bad memories of Vermont’s summer storms that brought devastating flooding while causing new damage in some areas, said Julie Moore, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.

Vermont, which also suffered heavy damage in Hurricane Irene in 2011, is working to establish statewide floodplain standards, Moore told the Maine Climate Council.

Winter flooding brought “a lot of post-traumatic stress, frankly, in Vermont,” but there is also a sense that there is hope to prepare for the future, Moore said. “We have a unique opportunity that hasn’t presented itself since Irene.”

Preparing for a future of stronger storms, worse flooding and increased erosion will make for difficult choices in many coastal areas. In New Jersey, the resort town of North Wildwood has carried out emergency repairs to its protective sand dunes without approval from the state government — and they’re locked in a legal battle.

In Rhode Island, the RI Coastal Resources Management Council is encouraging the state’s many coastal home and business owners to elevate structures and move landward whenever possible, said Laura Dwyer, the council’s public education and outreach coordinator.

“People have always been drawn to the water and coast, and will continue to be,” Dwyer said. “We need to be smart about development, recognizing that sea level is rising at an unprecedented rate and storms are becoming more frequent and severe.”

But after the January storms, a heavily damaged house that tilted into the ocean in Narragansett, Rhode Island, signaled to some that with the world’s changing climate the ocean is creeping ever closer to places people live.

For Conrad Ferla, a resident of nearby South Kingstown, the house was a harbinger of a future of heavy storms and dangerous flooding in the region that will require more than plywood, riprap and sandbags to be ready.

“I do think that a lot of properties along the shore should move to higher ground,” said Ferla, who started a group called Saving RI Coastal Access/Rights Of Way and advocates for a cautious approach to coastal building. ”I think that retreat is probably the the best option.”

___

Associated Press photojournalist Charles Krupa and video journalist Rodrique Ngowi contributed to this report in Hampton, New Hampshire.

A call about the train with three tank cars on their sides near Tremley Point Road in Linden came in before 8 a.m. Thursday.

Chopper 4 was over the scene, just off the New Jersey Turnpike.

Union County hazmat teams were called out as a precaution. No injuries were immediately reported.

NJ Transit said its commuter trains weren’t affected.

It wasn’t clear how long cleanup could take.

This month, events are taking place across the tri-state in which Black people are displaying their talents, using their voice, and sharing opportunities with others to be educated about Black culture and heritage.

Here are some events to add to your calendar this month.

New York

Harlem Chamber Players 16th Annual Black History Month Concert

Located at the New York Public Library at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Harlem Chamber 16th Annual Black History Month Concert features three Haitian women: Harpist Ashley Jackson, Nathalie Joachim, the guest artist, and Helga Davis as host. Joachim will open with her music accompanied by percussion from The Harlem Chamber players. Joachim will perform her song, “Ki moun ou ye,” set to be released, Friday, Feb. 16.

The event highlights the beauty of Haitian women, pays homage to the foremothers of Haitian music, and the alpha women in Joachim that made an impact in her life. This event is for people who are looking for inspiration through Haitian culture and an opportunity to bond with others.

This free first come, first serve event set to be held on Thursday, Feb. 15 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

The Rhythms & Movements Of African American Culture Festival

From Monday, Feb. 12 to Sunday, Feb. 18, The Rhythms & Movements Of African American Culture Festival, presents 7 days and 16 performances of African and African-American culture at the Abron Art Center. The event pays homage to the 54th anniversary of Black History Month, Ghanaian and Nigerian culture, and much more of African and African American culture through dance and music. If you’re into jazz, afro beats, modern dance, or hip hop, this event may just be the one for you.

New Jersey

Jazz At The Gallery feat the Alex Desrivieres Project

The Alex Desrivieres Project is commemorating Black History Month in the Jazz At The Gallery on Sunday, Feb. 25. With his Saxophone and his band, Alex Desrivieres will be filling the stage with Jazz music from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

A Black History Month Celebration at the Plainfield Performing Arts Center

This special event located in Plainfield, New Jersey, Stone Square Lodge 38 will be celebrating Black History Month through spoken word, performances, conversations about cultural heritage and African Americans contributions throughout history.

Celebrate Black Heritage going to these events throughout the month

Sea Girt Police say they were called to Neptune Beach shortly before 11:30 a.m. Saturday for a report of a missing child. When they got there, they encountered the toddler’s parents.

The boy’s father apparently had been able to extricate the child from the sand pit within two to three minutes of being swallowed up, officials said, as the dad dug frantically. He remained conscious and alert and was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Police said the child and his father had not been digging a hole, and the ground simple collapsed under the child.

The child spent Saturday night at the hospital and is now recovering at home.

The Sea Girt Office of Emergency Management, Department of Public Works, and Police Department all mobilized to the scene. Borough officials established communication with the US Army Corps of Engineers, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and Weeks Marine to address the incident.

The affected area was secured, restricting public access, and personnel from Weeks Marine are ensuring on-site security until representatives from the US Army Corps of Engineers and Weeks Marine arrive to assess and evaluate the site. Chopper 4 was over the scene mid-Monday morning and showed the gaping hole cordoned off, preventing anyone else from walking on an area that could be unstable.

Sea Girt added close to 600,000 tons of sand to its beaches since early January. The beaches had just reopened a week before the incident.

In 2022, an 18-year-old died after the hole he was digging in the sand in Toms River collapsed and suffocated him.

A federal appeals court shot down claims earlier this week that New Jersey residents’ refusal to wear face masks at school board meetings during the COVID-19 outbreak constituted protected speech under the First Amendment.

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling Monday in two related cases stemming from lawsuits against officials in Freehold and Cranford, New Jersey.

The suits revolved around claims that the plaintiffs were retaliated against by school boards because they refused to wear masks during public meetings. In one of the suits, the court sent the case back to a lower court for consideration. In the other, it said the plaintiff failed to show she was retaliated against.

Still, the court found that refusing to wear a mask during a public health emergency didn’t amount to free speech protected by the Constitution.

“A question shadowing suits such as these is whether there is a First Amendment right to refuse to wear a protective mask as required by valid health and safety orders put in place during a recognized public health emergency. Like all courts to address this issue, we conclude there is not,” the court said.

The court added: “Skeptics are free to — and did — voice their opposition through multiple means, but disobeying a masking requirement is not one of them. One could not, for example, refuse to pay taxes to express the belief that ‘taxes are theft.’ Nor could one refuse to wear a motorcycle helmet as a symbolic protest against a state law requiring them.”

Ronald Berutti, an attorney for the appellants, said they intend to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

The lawsuits were filed by George Falcone and Gwyneth Murray-Nolan.

Falcone attended a Freehold Township school board meeting in early 2022 when masks were still required. He refused, according to the court’s ruling, and was issued a summons on a trespassing charge. He also alleged a later school board meeting was canceled in retaliation for his not wearing a mask. A lower court found he didn’t have standing to bring the suit, and he appealed.

Murray-Nolan, who had testified before lawmakers on her skepticism toward the efficacy of masking, attended an early 2022 Cranford school board meeting without a mask despite a requirement for them. Less than a month later at the board’s next meeting, she was arrested on a defiant trespass charge after attending without a mask. A lower court found officers had probable cause to arrest her because she failed to wear a mask as required under the law at the time. She appealed.

Eric Harrison, an attorney for the officials named in the suit, lauded the ruling on Tuesday. In an emailed statement he said that refusing to wear a mask in violation of a public health mandate “is not the sort of ‘civil disobedience’ that the drafters of the First Amendment had in mind as protected speech.”

New Jersey’s statewide order for public masking in schools ended in March 2022, shortly after the incidents described in the suits.

Summit is a Union County community of some 22,000 where people move to feel safe. But that security has been shattered by a rising wave of car thefts and burglaries sweeping across the state.

While no residents have been hurt, what concerns police is that people are usually at home when the car the thieves of eyeing is sitting in the driveway, authorities say.

“Some of these suspects are willing to go in when people are home to gain access to their cars,” Summit Police Capt. Ryan Peters said. “We hear the terror in their voices. It’s traumatizing, you’re inside the house with your family.”

With easy access to Route 24 and then Route 78, it’s a quick dash out of town with mostly high-end cars like BMWs and Land Rovers. And while more people have learned to keep their key fobs inside the house, some forget they have to keep them out of site, too. If a thief can see a fob through a sliding door, for example, the thief might break in for it.

Police have used social media, including a recent Facebook Live seminar, to keep residents informed.

As a preventive measure, Summit police will soon be offering personal home security assessments to any residents who request one. Beginning March 1, one of six specially trained officers will come out and do a site inspection for free. Peters says they’ll check lighting and whether the security system, including door locks, is adequate, among other factors, and then give residents a report with some suggested best practices.

Police said an anonymous tip from a concerned citizen on Saturday led them to a suspected dog-fighting ring at a home in Neptune Township, and rescuers were able to rescue the injured dogs from the “horrific” conditions they were being kept in.

Members of the Monmouth County SPCA went with law enforcement to the Embury Avenue address, where they found a concrete walkway with a fresh trail of blood leading to a shed in the backyard.

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They could hear several barking dogs inside the locked structure. Once the locks were removed, six dogs covered in filth were found in separate crates lined with woodchips, the SPCA said. Each of the canines had scabs, scarring and other obvious injuries.

“Two dogs were tethered outside with heavy chains around their necks,” said MCSPCA Executive Director Ross Licitra.

Given the puncture wounds to their ears and mouths, officials believe the injuries were consistent with dog fighting, possibly having been used as “bait dogs” in the illicit ring.

Law enforcement sources told the I-Team the occupants of the home were not cooperative and that officers could not reach the apparent owner of the dogs.

One of the homeowners was arrested at the scene for disorderly behavior, police said.

Licitra said crews “worked late into the night to investigate this horrific scene and get the 8 dogs to safety. All of the dogs are being cared for by our compassionate staff and can finally be free of fear and pain.”

The Monmouth County SPCA will look after the dogs to get them healthy and rehabilitated for adoption. Veterinarian Michelle Brognano told the I-Team that several of the dogs have been placed on antibiotics, but all are expected to survive.

In addition to taking the dogs, investigators also seized two treadmills and what may be animal steroids. A tenant told NBC New York she had no idea what was happening until the raid by police was going down.

An investigation is ongoing, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said.

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Attendant Kuljit Singh said the violence started after a man asked for a cigarette at the gas station off Broad Street in Clifton. Soon after, the man pulled out a gun.

In surveillance video obtained exclusively by NBC New York, Singh grabs the squeegee as he tried to get away from the gun-toting attacker. He repeatedly swung the cleaning item at the armed man, hitting him a number of times as the worker made his way inside the station.

“He pulled out the gun, so he ran and came in here and he was yelling my name,” said station manager Patrick Doherty. “When I came out I saw the guy walking toward him with a pistol, I saw the pistol in his hand, so I backed up and called 911.”

Singh was able to keep the suspect from opening the door and carrying out the rest of the robbery — and even got the last hit in. Video showed the suspect leaving in his car, but not before Singh used the squeegee to give the car’s windshield a good whack as he drove off empty-handed.

“The guy walks back to his car, ready to leave, and [Singh’s] holding a squeegee and he smacked the windshield — and broke it!” said Doherty.

Just minutes before, there was a similar attack at a gas station in Hasbrouck Heights. Surveillance video in that incident showed a black Dodge pull into a Valero parking lot. As the attendant is close by, a man gets out and starts attacking, chasing after the worker moments later. He then got in his car and peeled away.

Tahar Rahman was working at the time and said the attendant was pistol-whipped and robbed of cash, but otherwise was OK.

“When he saw the money, he tried to snatch and grab. And first he hit him when he came out of the car, my guy was scared and he ran,” said Rahman.

Police in Paterson are also investigating an armed robbery at a convenience store by a suspect in a similar car, all of which occurred within a few hours of each other. Surveillance video from the store robbery showed an armed man snatching hundreds of dollars from a cash register. Witnesses said he matches the description from the other attacks, blue gloves and all.

Anyone with information regarding the incidents is asked to contact police.

Washington Township police were searching for a vehicle after witnesses told them they saw a woman put a child in the trunk over the weekend. It occurred on Chestnut Street near Cross Street.

The eyewitnesses said they spotted the woman seemingly put the child in the trunk of what appeared to be a maroon Toyota Saturday afternoon.

But officials said Monday night that it was not a crime. According to the Bergen Record, investigators have since determined that the driver of the car — and the passenger — were both “consenting teenagers.”

The person seen getting into the trunk on Saturday did so willingly and got out a short time later, officials said.

The sting operation was aimed at combating drug-related and violent crimes in locations with some of the highest overdose rates in the United States, including Newark.

From Jan. 8 to Feb. 2, authorities, including deputy U.S. marshals, task force officer, police officer and federal agents conducted five- to 10-day warrants as part of Operation Washout — OD3, the U.S. Marshals said.

Among the arrested were 27 individuals wanted for homicide/capital murder, 80 individuals for weapons offenses, 202 for drug offenses, 104 for assault, 78 were confirmed gang members, and 25 for sex offenses.

In total, the operation resulted in:

• 736 warrants closed
• 596 arrests 
• 78 gang members arrested
• 57 firearms seized 
• 102.58 kilograms of narcotics seized 
• $143,236 in U.S. currency seized

A student is recovering after being stabbed at a northern New Jersey high school Monday morning, police said.

The 18-year-old student was stabbed at Hackensack High School located in Bergen County and suffered non-life threatening injuries as a result of the attack, Hackensack Police Capt. Michael Antista said in a press release.

The student received treatment from school officials before being transported to a local hospital, according to Antista.

A special law enforcement officer took another student into custody in connection to the incident and it is expected they will be charged in connection to the stabbing.

Hackensack School District Superintendent Dr. Thomas McBryde Jr. and the Hackensack Board of Education put out a joint statement following the incident saying in part: “Today, there was an unfortunate incident involving two Hackensack High School students that resulted in one student being transported to the area hospital for treatment of injuries. We are relieved to report that the student is currently in stable condition and receiving appropriate medical care.”

The district went on to say that the incident prompted a shelter-in-place for the safety of students and staff while the situation was investigated.

Additional information was not immediately available.

U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Cox Arleo dismissed a lawsuit on Jan. 31 by Sam Antar against the gambling companies, saying the voluminous rules and regulations governing gambling in New Jersey do not impose a legal duty upon casinos to cut off compulsive gamblers.

New Jersey casino law “pervasively regulates the responsibilities of casinos as they relate to compulsive gamblers, but is notably silent on whether casinos or online gambling platforms may induce people who present with compulsive gambling behavior to patronize their businesses,” the judge wrote in her decision.

She also cited two previous New Jersey cases in which a compulsive gambler and a patron who claimed to have lost money gambling while drunk sued unsuccessfully.

Similar lawsuits have been dismissed in other states, including Indiana.

“The New Jersey Legislature … has not yet seen fit to require casinos to prevent or stop inducing gambling from those that exhibit problem gambling behavior,” Arleo wrote. “As a matter of law, (the) defendants do not owe a negligence common law duty of care to plaintiffs.”

Antar said the law needs to be changed, adding he plans to appeal the dismissal of the case.

“This is not just about me; this is about all the people across this country who have this addiction,” he said. “When are we as a country going to address this?”

Antar, who has homes in New York and in Long Branch, New Jersey, gambled $30 million over 100,000 bets during nine months in 2019, according to his lawsuit, which does not specify how much he actually lost. Antar said he is not certain of the amount, and his lawyer, Matthew Litt, said it was “at least in the six figures.”

His lawsuit made some of the same claims that were raised — and rejected by a judge — in another person’s lawsuit targeting Atlantic City casinos. In 2008, a federal judge ruled against New York gambler Arelia Taveras who sued seven Atlantic City casinos that she said had a duty to stop her from gambling. She lost nearly $1 million over two years, including dayslong gambling binges.

“She spent money on the bona fide chance that she might win more money,” U.S. District Court Judge Renée Bumb wrote in a 2008 ruling. “In short, she gambled. The mere fact that defendants profited from her misfortune, while lamentable, does not establish a cognizable claim in the law.”

MGM cites that case among its numerous defenses to Antar’s litigation, and said it did not create or worsen a gambling problem in Antar or anyone else.

The company declined comment Monday.

Litt said his appeal will center on his contention that New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, designed to protest customers from “unconscionable” acts by companies, should apply in this case.

Antar is the nephew of Eddie Antar, who founded the Crazy Eddie electronics stores in the 1970s and 1980s. Eddie Antar defrauded investors out of more than $74 million, and died in 2016.

In 2013, Sam Antar was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for taking $225,000 in a fraudulent investment scheme. He was convicted and jailed in 2022 on theft by deception charges involving nearly $350,000.

In 2023, he admitted committing federal securities fraud for bilking investors, including friends stemming from that same case, served four months in jail and was ordered to pay restitution.

He is currently free under an intensive supervision program, and says he has been informally counseling young people with gambling problems.

“Who better than me to show them what this can become?” he said.

___

Follow Wayne Parry on X, formerly Twitter, at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC

Secaucus will soon have security cameras stationed at every way in and out of town. The goal: keep an eye out for stolen cars leaving town.

Police in the town said there were 39 cars stolen last year, and 23 the year before that. It’s part of a crime wave growing exponentially.

The cameras typically mounted atop patrol cars will be used to try and catch car thieves before they leave town.

The town’s council voted unanimously to spend half a million dollars to install 44 cameras on every entrance and exit to the 6.6-square mile town.

“We’re the only ones in the state that will every entrance and exit camera’d. There is only one way into the north end where I live, and quite frankly, once you’re in, there’s no getting out,” Mayor Michael Gonnelli said.

Secaucus is actually an island, surrounded by the Hackensack river, which the police chief says makes it that much more feasible to install the license plate readers to catch thieves. And it’s not just car theft that prompted this move.

“A stolen car is predominantly used to commit other crimes, whether it be burglaries, whether it be other stolen cars, whether it be residential burglaries, whether it be shootings or homicides,” Police Chief Dennis Miller said. “Auto theft is at the hub of a lot of issues.”

The cameras will be monitored solely by police and will only capture license plates, not the identity of the driver.

“It’s not designed to surveil the residents’ comings and goings. It’s a tool to use to detect criminal activity,” Miller explained.

While the sign at the front of town won’t say “Welcome to Secaucus you’re on camera,” police and residents hope just knowing the cameras are in place there may be a deterrent.

“Sometimes when people just know it’s here, they won’t go 90 miles an hour and come in here with plates that police are looking for,” resident Jeanette said. “I think it’s excellent.”

The cameras will be ordered soon, but there is no installation date yet.

Dion Marsh, 29, from Manchester, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in a federal court hearing in Trenton on Thursday to four counts of committing hate crimes and one of carjacking. He faces being sentenced to life in prison later this year.

He was charged with willfully causing bodily injury to five victims, and attempting to kill and cause injuries with dangerous weapons to four of them in 2022 in and around Lakewood, New Jersey, because they were Jewish, the United States Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

The case comes as tensions continue to run high across the U.S. due to the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, which has been linked to a rise in discrimination and violent crimes against both Jews and Muslims.

“This defendant violently attacked five men, driving a car into four of them, stabbing one of them in the chest, and attempting to kill them, simply because they were visibly identifiable as Orthodox Jews,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in the statement.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com.

According to prosecutors, the Camry was trying to turn left from Route 130 South onto Stults Road in South Brunswick around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday when it hit the school bus, which was going the other way on Route 130.

The three people in the Camry — 86-year-old Ellen Brotman, 87-year-old Alba Olivencia and 90-year-old Wilson Olivencia, all of Monroe Township, were pronounced dead at the scene. Their relationship wasn’t immediately clear.

The school bus driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, while the 15- and 17-year-old kids on the bus at the time of the impact were not hurt. Their parents picked them up and brought them home.

Anyone with information is asked to call the South Brunswick Police Department at 732-329-4000 ext. 7474 or the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3317.

Sarju Patel, of North Bergen, was arrested on charges of stalking, cyber-harassment and harassment on Monday, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.

Members of the prosecutor’s Cyber Crimes Unit executed a search warrant earlier this week at Patel’s residence in connection to a stalking investigation. The probe allegedly revealed that Patel created social media accounts with numerous vanity names in the likeness of his victims. He also allegedly posted photographs of the victims, checked-in online at various locations associated with the victims and their families and even sent physical letters to the workplace of one of the victims, the prosecutor’s office said.

Attorney information was not immediately available.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that Somerville police officers responding to a 911 call Tuesday night found the woman’s injury-riddled body outside a complex on North Bridge Street. She appeared to have been stabbed multiple times.

Authorities did not immediately release the woman’s name. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests had been made as of Wednesday morning. It wasn’t clear whether police believed the attack was random.

Abdush Sharif, the victim’s 36-year-old son, was taken into custody Friday at a house in Newark. Also apprehended at the house: 46-year-old Kevin Rogers and 49-year-old Dashawn Kinchen. All three are accused of violating firearm regulations. It wasn’t immediately clear if authorities had other suspects in the killing.

Sharif and Rogers were being held Tuesday at the Essex County Correctional Facility pending detention hearings, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. Kinchen was released on a summons. Information on attorneys for the men weren’t immediately available.

Authorities had said they were looking into whether a relative may be involved. Law enforcement sources previously identified the son as the relative under investigation. They previously said they had no evidence that religious hate motivated the imam’s slaying. Essex County prosecutors say their investigation is active and ongoing.

Essex County Crime Stoppers is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the killing. The Council on American-Islamic Relations and its New Jersey chapter are also offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.

For nearly two decades, Sharif also worked as a transportation security officer for the Transportation Security Administration at Newark Liberty International Airport, said TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of his passing and send our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues,” she said in an emailed statement shortly after his death.

In a video statement posted on its website, the mosque offered prayers and said the community would focus on delivering Sharif his last rights and burial. The statement described Sharif as a brother, friend, father and husband and called on the community to be mindful of the family’s grief.

Sharif’s death follows other recent killings of religious leaders or at houses of worship that officials said weren’t tied to bias.

In Detroit, authorities said there wasn’t a “shred of evidence” that the killing of a synagogue leader in her home in October was motivated by antisemitism. In Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, authorities said the death of a man outside a mosque was the result of a carjacking.

Eight Fernandez brothers and sisters were part of the clandestine exodus from communist Cuba in 1960 that became known as Operation Pedro Pan. The Catholic Church organized an airlift of 14,000 unaccompanied children to Florida and then to other states, including New Jersey.

In Nov. 2023, several of the siblings sat down with the NBC New York I-Team in New Jersey — the same state where they all eventually were re-united with their parents decades earlier. They described the toll of separation and uncertainty, emotions they had never shared as a family.

“Our mother always told us to look forward, not back,” Bea Hernandez said at the time.

The children, ages 4 to 16, were sent out of the country in separate groups so as not to arouse government suspicion.

They talked about their determination to find each other again, no matter the challenges. Maria was too mentally fragile at the time to participate in the interview, but when she saw her siblings share their stories of love and strength, she decided she wanted to let her voice be heard.

Maria, originally placed in a reformatory on Staten Island with two of her brothers, said she was later abused in a foster home, an agonizing admission the siblings always suspected.

Maria said talking about her trauma helped heal the suffering she’d kept inside for 60 years and lift her burden.

“I know now I am not the only one who suffered,” she said.

“We have our sister back,” said youngest brother Juan, who was born in the United States. “We thought we’d lost her. Now she’s truly free.”

Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Willingboro, New Jersey, was killed along with Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, and Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, in a drone strike on their base in Jordan near the Syrian border, according to the Department of Defense.

All three were reservists assigned to the 926th Engineer Brigade based at Fort Moore, Georgia.

Rivers enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2011 and was first assigned to the 990th Engineer Company at Fort McGuire-Dix in New Jersey. He completed a nine-month tour in Iraq in 2018 and was assigned to Fort Moore last year.

According to NBC News, Rivers’ awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, two Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device, and the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal with Campaign Star. 

New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker issued a statement of condolences at the death of the three service members.

“Sergeant Rivers served with courage, honor, and a deep sense of duty, embodying the best of New Jersey and our nation,” Booker said. “His death is a profound loss to his family, friends, colleagues, and our entire country, and a reminder of the heavy debt we owe to our military families for their sacrifice.”

Aside from the soldiers killed, the Pentagon said more than 40 troops were wounded in the attack, most with cuts, bruises, brain injuries and similar wounds. Eight were medically evacuated, including three who were going to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The other five, who suffered minor brain injuries, were expected to return to duty.

The drone attack was one of dozens on U.S. troops in the Middle East since Hamas launched attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, igniting the war in Gaza. But it’s the first in which American service members have been killed.

Biden promised on Sunday to “hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing” but said the U.S. wasn’t seeking to get into another conflict in the Middle East.

The assistant superintendent of the Freehold Township School District announced in a social post the district’s schools would be closed Monday “due to technical difficulties related to a cybersecurity event.”

The school district’s website confirmed schools were closed Monday. Around 3,500 students and eight schools were impacted by the closure.

“It’s terrible, the kids are at the loss of this, no one is winning and they really should stop it,” Cyrus Eslami, a Freehold Township parent, told NBC New York.

In an email to parents, Freehold Township’s superintendent explained that the district was enduring a cybersecurity attack and added, “We have retained outside IT expert consultants who are working around the clock to assess, contain, remediate, and fully restore operations.”

Parents found out school was canceled less than 12 hours before school was supposed to start.

Freehold has not released any details about exactly how their network was compromised.

As of Monday evening, the district had not announced if schools would reopen on Tuesday.

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The family of a 14-year-old girl who died by suicide last year after video of other students viciously attacking her in a high school hallway was posted to social media is filing a civil lawsuit alleging school administrators knew a “culture of violence” existed at Central Regional High School and failed to protect the teenager from its clutches.

Adriana Kuch, of Bayville, was a freshman at the Berkeley Township high school when her family members found her dead by suicide on Feb. 3, 2023. Two days earlier, she had been set upon in the hallway by a group of girls who kicked her, punched her and hit her in the face with a water bottle. Kuch blacked out. They recorded it — and posted it online.

Kuch’s father, Michael Kuch, believes bullying drove his daughter to take her own life and previously eviscerated the school for not calling the police after the attack. The school said it did call the police, in line with district policy, but that it doesn’t always pursue charges. Michael Kuch says taking his injured daughter to the school nurse was insufficient.

In the aftermath of Kuch’s death, videos surfaced of other bullying incidents at Central Regional High School.

A video from 2022 showed a girl, with her arm in a sling because of a shoulder injury during a wrestling match, getting attacked. That student’s mother said she had to send her daughter to an out-of-district school after her attackers were suspended for 10 days.

In another attack from the same year, the victim again had to be transferred out afterward. The lawyer for that family has said video of the incident immediately went up on social media with the intent to harass and intimidate.

Michael Kuch’s lawsuit, which names the Central Board of Education, school superintendent, school principal, an anti-bullying specialist and other school officials as defendants, alleges administrators were not only aware of harassment, intimidation and bullying — and the video recordings and social media posts on the attacks — they failed to address threats posed by students in compliance with the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Statute. They also allegedly failed to investigate the threats in a timely and appropriate manner, the complaint says, and to shield Kuch from the abuse.

Those failures and oversights, Michael Kuch claims, led to his daughter’s public humiliation and ultimate suicide. The lawsuit was filed Monday in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Ocean County.

“Adriana was the light of our lives, and one year after her horrific and needless death, we are still waiting for justice,” Michael Kuch said in a statement, in part. “It’s clear this school has a serious bullying problem that none of the school administrators care to admit or address.”

The Ocean County prosecutor’s office previously charged three of the four girls with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and the fourth girl with aggravated assault. They are all being prosecuted as juveniles. The status of those cases wasn’t immediately clear Monday.

The attack video

News 4 has obtained that footage (below). WARNING: Note that some viewers may find its contents disturbing.

The footage itself lasts less than a minute. It shows Kuch walking down the hallway with her boyfriend as the kids recording the moment approach them going in the opposite direction. Suddenly, there’s a quick movement from someone near the phone-holder and pink liquid sprays out of a cup, all over Kuch. She is then set upon by at least two people, the video shows, slammed into school lockers and surrounded by what is now a trio of attackers.

She crumples on the floor. The three classmates, backpacks swinging, fall over themselves a bit near the lockers, almost stepping on Kuch as she crawls around on the floor, trying to collect herself. Then they start shoving her, dragging her almost along the ground on her knees, raking her against the red school lockers, the white soles of her shoes the only part of her visible underneath her attackers at various points. Then one girl grabs her by the hair.

The violent attack continues for another few seconds before two adults run into the video frame and pull the attackers off Kuch. She is seen writhing on the ground, her hands holding either side of her head as a man stands over her. He then helps the bruised and bloodied girl up. The footage wraps.

The superintendent’s office didn’t immediately respond to a voicemail seeking comment Monday. The Central Regional School District declined to comment, saying in a statement they had not yet been served a copy of the complaint.

“Further, Further, since this would be a matter involving litigation, the Board will be limited in what it can comment on publicly,” the district’s statement read.

The district superintendent resigned in February 2023 after commenting on Kuch’s home life and mental health. That official had also publicly said school officials didn’t pursue criminal charges against the students because they didn’t want the girls to face a potential “double whammy” in discipline from the school and law enforcement, the suit says.

The civil lawsuit filed Monday also accuses the former superintendent of defamation and violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act in the days following Kuch’s death.

“Michael Kuch and his family have experienced so much heartache and tragedy already, and the gross negligence of school officials – followed by the superintendent’s cruel, insensitive, and defamatory remarks – only compound their pain,” Kuch family counsel William Krais, of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, said in a statement. “It is the defendants’ job to provide a safe and secure environment for the students at Central Regional High School. They catastrophically failed Adriana, leading to the emotional distress, humiliation, and embarrassment that ultimately caused her to take her own life. It’s high time the school and those involved are held accountable for their actions.”

The civil lawsuit alleges negligence against all the defendants. Additionally, against the board and former superintendent, it alleges invasion of privacy, defamation, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

It seeks unspecified punitive damages.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.

Hawthorne fire officials say they were dispatched to the Rock Road complex around 9 a.m. Sunday for a report of a floor collapse. They confirmed a wall, and part of the first floor, fell into the basement. Nine boilers were destroyed, leaving affected families without heat and hot water.

That building, along with neighboring apartments, was evacuated. An engineer shored the building up, and firefighters spent almost 12 hours at the scene securing it.

Officials say it appears the ground moisture pushed against the wall for years, and the wall gave in. An official cause for the collapse was not yet clear.

Some tenants say they’ve complained in the past about boiler and structural concerns, and now fear they’ll never get back into their homes at all.

“You can’t sleep at night, it’s that bad, where the banging of the pipes, it feels like the boiler is going to explode,” said resident Michael Barchetto.

No injuries were reported. City officials said around 20 units were affected in all. The mayor said engineers will look into ways to repair the collapsed wall.

The Red Cross says it’s helping 12 people from seven families with immediate needs; it’s also helping three other families.

An 18th-century British painting stolen by mobsters in 1969 has been returned more than a half-century later to the family that bought the painting for $7,500 during the Great Depression, the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office announced Friday.

The 40-inch-by-50-inch (102-cm-by-127-cm) John Opie painting — titled “The Schoolmistress” — is the sister painting of a similar work housed in the Tate Britain art gallery in London.

Authorities believe the Opie piece was stolen with the help of a former New Jersey lawmaker and then passed among organized crime members for years before it ended up in the southern Utah city of St. George. A Utah man had purchased a house in Florida in 1989 from Joseph Covello Sr. — a convicted mobster linked to the Gambino family — and the painting was included in the sale, the FBI said.

When the buyer died in 2020, a Utah accounting firm that was seeking to liquidate his property sought an appraisal for the painting and it was discovered to likely be the stolen piece, the FBI said.

The painting was taken into custody by the agency pending resolution of who owned it and returned on Jan. 11 to Dr. Francis Wood, 96, of Newark, the son of the painting’s original owner, Dr. Earl Wood, who bought it during the 1930s, the FBI said.

Opie was a British historical and portrait painter who portrayed many people, including British royals. His paintings have sold at auction houses including Sotheby’s and Christie’s, including one that sold in 2007 for almost $1 million.

“This piece of art, what a history it’s had,” said FBI Special Agent Gary France, who worked on the case. “It traveled all through the U.K. when it was first painted, and owned by quite a few families in the U.K. And then it travels overseas to the United States and is sold during the Great Depression and then stolen by the mob and recovered by the FBI decades later. It’s quite amazing.”

According to the FBI, “The Schoolmistress” was taken from Earl Wood’s house by three men working at the direction of former New Jersey state Sen. Anthony Imperiale, who died in 1999. Imperiale, a political firebrand who also served as a Newark city councilman, was in the national spotlight in the 1960s as a spokesman for cracking down on crime. He was also divisive, organizing citizen patrols to keep Black protesters out of Italian neighborhoods during riots in Newark in the summer of 1967.

Authorities say the thieves broke into the house in July 1969 in a bid to steal a coin collection, but were foiled by a burglar alarm. Local police and Imperiale responded to the attempted burglary, and the home’s caretaker told the lawmaker that the Opie painting in the home was “priceless,” the FBI said.

The men returned to the house later that month and stole the painting, the FBI said.

One of the thieves, Gerald Festa, later confessed to the burglary, in the 1975 trial of an accomplice, and said the trio had been acting under Imperiale. Festa said the thieves had visited Imperiale prior to the theft and were told by the lawmaker where to find the painting in Wood’s home, the FBI said. Festa also testified that Imperiale had the painting.

But the claims against the state lawmaker were not sufficiently corroborated and he was never charged, France said.

No charges have been filed by the FBI since the painting’s recovery because all of those believed to have been involved are dead, France said. The three men who stole the painting were all convicted of other mob-related crimes before their deaths, he said.

Marques Hudson was responding to a fire on Emerson Avenue when he died, according to a statement released by Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp’s office. Mapp said Hudson, while battling the fire, either fell through the floor or down a flight of stairs.

Four other firefighters rushed into the home and pulled him out. Doctors reportedly spent an hour trying to revive the man.

According to the statement, Hudson joined the Plainfield Fire Department in December 2021. The 32-year-old was a father of three.

“His valor and selflessness were the hallmarks of his character, epitomized in his final act of bravery,” the statement said. “He was not merely a firefighter – he embodied the very essence of heroism, putting the lives of others before his own, a testament to his unwavering commitment and courage.”

“The loss of such a remarkable individual is not only a professional tragedy but also a deeply personal one, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts of all who knew him,” it continued.

First responders stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the steps of city hall, visibly shaken by the death of the firefighter. The city urged the Plainfield community to come together in mourning.

“The impact of Firefighter Hudson’s absence is immeasurable. His dedication and heroism will forever be remembered and revered,” the statement said. Mayor Mapp, Fire Director Kenneth Childress, fellow firefighters, and all those who were fortunate enough to cross paths with Firefighter Hudson mourn a loss that words cannot adequately express.”

No other details on the Emerson Avenue fire, which broke out shortly before 9 a.m., were immediately available. Funeral arrangements are expected to be shared once they are set. It marks the first line-of-duty death in Plainfield.

Investigations into the cause of the fire and of Hudson’s death were ongoing.

Retirement is meant to be a time of enjoyment and relaxation after years of hard work.

However, the years leading up to retirement, according to financial experts, should be marked with saving as much as possible to cover your costs when you no longer work.

Retirement can be a stressful time for some with 28% of adults not saving money for it, and Social Security benefits only replaces about 37% of the average workers earnings, according to WalletHub.

Additionally, part of stretching your savings is living in the right place.

With this in mind, Wallethub looked into the best and worst states to retire in 2024. The study compared the 50 states across 46 key indicators including tax rates, cost of living, access to quality medical care and fun activities. It turns out, the tri-state area is not the most retire-friendly region.

New Jersey is the second worst state to retire in, according to the study. The overall ranking was based upon how the Garden State did in individual categories. Turns out that when it comes to the affordability rank, New Jersey came in as the second least affordable state (No. 49). It ranked a bit better when it came to quality of life (No. 35) and health care (No. 20).

Overall, New York fared a bit better than New Jersey, although it is also among the top 10 worst states to retire in, according to WalletHub. New York ranked as the 7th worst state to retire overall (No. 44 out of 50). It’s ranking is due to how it scored in the affordability rank (coming in last place). Although, New York did score among the top 20 for quality of life (No. 10) and health care (No. 12) categories.

New York also made a few appearances in key metrics. WalletHub determined that it has the fifth highest adjusted cost of living and the third worst taxpayer ranking. The good news? New York has the fourth highest life expectancy among all the states, and it is also No. 1 when it comes to museums per capita and theaters per capita, allowing for fun activities that retirees may want to participate in.

Out of the tri-state area, Connecticut was the state that ranked the best, coming in as the 17th worst state for retirees. In individual categories it ranked as the state with the sixth worst affordability (coming in at No. 45). It also came in at No. 26 for quality of life, and among the top 5 as having among the best health care (No. 4).

Connecticut also found its way into key metrics, placing as the second worst state for taxpayers.

Now that we know that the tri-state area is among the worst places to retire to, according to WalletHub, which state is the best? That would be Florida, followed by Colorado, Virginia, Delaware and Wyoming.

On the other end of the spectrum Kentucky beat out New Jersey to become the worst state to retire, according to the study.

For more information, or the methodology used, click here.

Dawn Ericksen was struggling with an opioid addiction a dozen years ago when she got pregnant and realized she couldn’t keep herself safe, much less a baby. Working part-time, she couldn’t afford the hundreds of dollars she would need for an abortion and had to turn to a trusted friend to help cover the costs.

Ericksen, a 43-year-old attorney from South Jersey who has been sober for 10 years, is now speaking out about her experience because she thinks women’s voices need to be heard.

“I knew it was the right choice for me. But at the same time, that doesn’t mean I want to shout it from the rooftops and tell everybody, hey, I’m in a tough position,” she said. “It wasn’t easy to kind of come hat in hand, so to speak, and say ‘This is something I need help with.’ It’s a very vulnerable place to be.”

Experiences like Ericksen’s are at the center of a renewed effort by New Jersey’s Democratic-led Legislature and governor, Phil Murphy, to bar women from having to pay out-of-pocket costs to get an abortion. New Jersey is among a group of Democratic-led states that are moving to reduce the barriers to abortion, even as many conservative states have been severely restricting a woman’s right to end her pregnancy since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

New Jersey Jan 9

NJ Gov. Phil Murphy touts economic initiatives in State of the State Address

abortion Jan 24

64,000 women and girls became pregnant due to rape in states with abortion bans, study estimates

New Jersey and nine other states require health insurers to cover abortion services, but it is the only state among that group that doesn’t bar out-of-pocket costs, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues. In the governor’s annual address this month, Murphy called for an end to such costs.

The issue, according to proponents of the measure, is that even women with insurance coverage might not reach their deductible, which vary but often exceed $1,000. An abortion’s cost depends on several factors, including whether it’s medication-induced or surgical. A medication abortion typically costs $600-$800, while a surgical procedure could cost up to $2,000, according to Planned Parenthood.

“We don’t want those having to make the decision between paying for groceries or having the care that they need,” said Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, an executive with Planned Parenthood Action of New Jersey, which supports the legislation.

The second-term governor is pushing for the legislation after his party expanded its majority in the Legislature and in a presidential year in which Democrats hope that the abortion issue will buoy their candidates nationwide. It also coincides with a yearslong effort to expand abortion services in the state, as Democratic officials sought to blunt the impact of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe.

New Jersey has already enshrined abortion rights as law, increased funding for abortion services and required regulated health insurance plans to cover the procedure.

“New Jersey will always be a safe haven for reproductive freedom. Period,” Murphy told lawmakers recently. “I am asking you to join me in doing more to protect reproductive rights.”

Despite Democrats having full control of the state government, the bill’s prospects are unknown. The legislative session just began, and lawmakers will soon turn their attention to the state budget. The leaders of both legislative chambers support abortion rights, but it’s unknown how much passing the law would cost, how it would be funded and whether it could cause insurance premiums to rise.

California, for instance, eliminated insurance charges such as co-payments and deductibles in 2022 and the measure was expected to increase insurance premiums.

Teresa Ruiz, the New Jersey Senate’s majority leader, spoke passionately about expanding access to abortion. She also raised a practical point about the measure and said it’s likely to come in the context of a broader budget discussion.

“My daughter, who is 7, has less body autonomy in this country than my mother has had in her lifetime,” Ruiz said.

Legislative Republicans viewed the governor’s proposal skeptically. Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio said his party is focused on “pocketbook issues” that affect all residents, and GOP state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon called it a “red herring” issue because the law protects abortion in the state.

Ericksen, who described her path to sobriety as a slow and laborious journey, said she would ask lawmakers to consider not just the financial costs of ending out-of-pocket fees, but how it could help everyone.

“When we support vulnerable populations, our whole state benefits,” she said.

The fire on Nassau Street and Georges Road in North Brunswick erupted at an address linked to an old mattress factory around the time of Wednesday’s evening rush. It escalated to eight alarms within hours.

The fire was fueled in part by propane tanks and other combustible materials, officials said.

Firefighters from as far as an hour from the scene were called to assist, and homes in the area were evacuated as a precaution. No injuries were reported.

Road closures were in effect through the overnight hours.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

Shamar Leggette, 41, was inside the MHO Inn and Suites on US-1 in Monmouth Junction when U.S. Marshals attempted to arrest him, sources said.

A woman inside the hotel surrendered to authorities, but amid negotiations with federal agents, senior law enforcement sources tell NBC New York Leggette came out shooting at deputy marshals and they returned fire killing him.

The New Jersey State Attorney General’s Office is investigating. South Brunswick police officers were also on the scene.

Leggette was wanted for the robbery of Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead who was robbed of $1 million of jewelry on-camera during a livestreamed sermon in July 2022, sources tell NBC New York.

Two men were previously arrested in the robbery but a third suspect was never caught, police said.

Sources said Leggette was wanted for additional crimes, including in Queens and Rhode Island.

NJ Transit is proposing a fare hike — the first in almost 10 years — with a number of scheduled public hearings before the proposal comes to a vote, the transportation agency announced Wednesday.

The proposed increase comes after NJ Transit’s preliminary estimates for Fiscal Year 2025 found a budget deficit of $119 million. The proposed hike is to the tune of 15% starting July 1 of this year, and then a 3% annual increase indefinitely after that taking effect July 1, 2025.

If this proposal passes, it would mark the first time in almost a decade in which NJ Transit increases its fares. According to the agency, since 2015 “NJ Transit has held the line on fare increases” while adding additional service on more than 100 bus routes. Since then, according to the agency, inflation has increased over 30%, which has impacted the operational cost, contracted services, contractual wage increases of around 10,000 of the agency’s employees and healthcare costs — the latter increasing 47% during this time.

On top of the inflation, the agency said costs to run bus and rail service have gone up as well.

The proposal calls to preserve service at current levels for the next fiscal year, but offered no guarantees for the following years — meaning there could be cuts to service in the future.

Here is an example of proposed fare increase:

NJ Transit also said that it has undergone enhancements since 2018, including restoring the ranks of locomotive engineers, an updated app, new fare payment technologies, improvements to its Access Link paratransit service and graduated more than 2,300 new bus operators.

Officials have known for a couple years that they would run into this fiscal dead end. Even though NJ Transit ridership has reached to about 80% of its pre-COVID levels, the agency is entering its 5th consecutive year of ridership below pre-pandemic levels. This low ridership has resulted in the loss of nearly $2 billion in fares, according to NJ Transit.

Despite NJ Transit using federal COVID relief funds over a few years to offset the loss, the funding will be exhausted in Fiscal Year 2025, the agency said.

Critics blasted the state for not acting sooner to prevent passing on the cost to riders.

NJ Transit will hold 10 scheduled in-person public meetings in 10 New Jersey counties — including morning and evening sessions — beginning Monday, March 4 through Friday, March 8 to allow for public comments before the plan is up for vote by the NJ Transit Board of Directors.

If you can not make it to the meetings, you will be able to send in comments for the record at www.njtransit.com/hearing, via postal mail to: PUBLIC HEARING OFFICE – FARE PROPOSAL COMMENTS, ONE PENN PLAZA EAST, NEWARK, NJ 07105, or via email at hearing@njtransit.com.The public comment period will be open until 11:59 p.m., Friday, March 8.

PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULE

Monday, March 4, 2024 11:00am – 1:00pm
CHERRY HILL (Camden County)
Cherry Hill Public Library
1100 Kings Highway North, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 

Monday, March 4, 2024 6:00pm – 8:00 pm
ATLANTIC CITY (Atlantic County)
Atlantic City Convention Center – Meeting Room 309
1 Convention Blvd., Atlantic City, NJ 08401

Tuesday, March 5, 2024 10:00am – 12:00pm
PATERSON (Passaic County)
Passaic County Community College – Paterson room
1 College Blvd, Paterson, NJ 07505

Tuesday, March 5, 2024 6:00pm – 8:00 pm
HACKENSACK (Bergen County)
Bergen County Administration Building – Conference Center
2 Bergen County Plaza 1st Floor, Hackensack, NJ 07601

Wednesday, March 6, 2024 10:00am – 12:00pm
TRENTON (Mercer County)
Trenton Transit Center
72 South Clinton Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08609

Wednesday, March 6, 2024 6:00pm – 8:00pm
BELMAR (Monmouth County)
Belmar Municipal Building – Council Chambers
601 Main St., Belmar, NJ 07719

Thursday, March 7, 2024 10:00am – 12:00pm
WOODBRIDGE (Middlesex County)
Berkely College Woodbridge Campus Student Center
430 Rahway Ave., Woodbridge, NJ 07095 

Thursday, March 7, 2024 6:00pm – 8:00pm
UNION (Union County)
Kean University – North Avenue Academic Building
Conference Center, Room 606, 6th Floor, 1000 Morris Ave., Union, NJ 07083

Friday, March 8, 2024 10:00am – 12:00pm
SECAUCUS (Hudson County)
Frank R. Lautenberg Station at Secaucus Junction – Long Hallway
County Road & County Avenue, Secaucus, NJ 07094

Friday, March 8, 2024 6:00pm – 8:00pm
NEWARK (Essex County)
NJ TRANSIT Headquarters – Board Room
One Penn Plaza East, Newark, NJ 07105

For more information on the meetings, or the proposed fare hike, click here.

The incident took place around 3:30 p.m. inside Toros restaurant located on Hazel Street in Clifton, the sources said. Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh later confirmed Berdnik’s death inside the basement bathroom. It’s unclear how many other patrons and workers were inside at the time, and the restaurant was closed to assist in the investigation.

Mayor Sayegh said he was at the restaurant earlier Tuesday to present the key to the city to Toros’ owner for donating meals to the hospital during the pandemic. Berdnik wasn’t in attendance but the mayor said he did see the sheriff the day before when they swore in eight new police officers.

“My last words to him were, ‘Sheriff, get in the picture with us. Get in the picture,'” the mayor said.

The respect and affection for Sheriff Berdnik were evident among public officials and those he closely worked with. Officers lined up outside the restaurant and saluted as an ambulance carried their fallen leader away.

“He was having lunch here with no problem then all of the sudden this is happening. I came here because I couldn’t believe it,” Council President of Paterson Alex Mendez told NBC New York outside the restaurant. “We not only lost a great sheriff, we lost a great friend, a phenomenal human being.”

“I look back at all our text messages between the two of us. I’ve known him for 14 years,” Mayor Sayegh added. “He was an exemplary law enforcement leader and he was a cherished friend.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also expressed his condolences in a statement, mourning the loss of the sheriff who has served state residents for more than four decades since his days as a Clifton police officer to five terms as sheriff.

“Tammy and I were blessed to have counted Sheriff Berdnik as a close friend. We will miss him — and his leadership — dearly. And we are sending our prayers and condolences to Sheriff Berdnik’s wife, Monica, their four adult children, and the entire team at the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office,” Murphy said.

Berdnik’s death comes a week after the Bergen Record reported that he sent a memo to his department, noting a difficult time in the agency and the need to lay off 29 jail corrections officers. Three corrections officers were also charged last week in an alleged beating of a pre-trial detainee at the Passaic County Jail.

The investigation into Berdnik’s death is ongoing.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.

Julia Sutton, 56, of Weehawken, was killed in a crash in Brick Township just after 9 a.m., police said. The crash happened near the intersection of Route 35 South and Bay Avenue.

Sutton was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead, officials said.

The car hit her while she was on the shoulder of the roadway before leaving the scene, police said.

On Jan. 15, law enforcement officials in Ocean County announced that they arrested Mark Carey, 19, of South Amboy, for his suspected role in the slaying of the woman.

An investigation into this incident, officials said, found that the vehicle involved in this deadly incident was a 1999 Ford Explorer that was registered to Carey.

Law enforcement officials said that investigators believe that Carey was behind the wheel of the vehicle at the time of the crash and he was arrested without incident.

Carey has been charged with knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident that resulted in death, reckless driving and other offenses.

Carey is now in custody at the Ocean County Jail where he is waiting for a detention hearing, officials said.

A rare double brood of cicadas will emerge from the soil at the same time, the first time such a thing has happened since 1803. Scientists say it won’t happen again for another 221 years.

Which may be a good thing for our ears, according to one expert.

“If you go into a woods full of cicadas, and you get back in your car, your ears are still ringing like you’ve been to a rock concert,” said entomologist Dr. Gene Kritsky.

One brood of cicadas is loud enough; two could be downright deafening. The noise comes from cicadas desperately trying their hand at their version of speed dating: The creatures have just four to six weeks above ground to mate before they die.

“It’s a mating call to attract the female — to verify that there’s interest, and during the process of mating itself,” said Dr. Kritsky.

The bugs in this year’s broods have been waiting underground for more than a decade.

The last time they emerged together was in 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was serving as the country’s third president.

A map of the two broods (below) shows where they are expected to emerge. It’s mostly in the Southeast and the Midwest, where people in central Illinois will either enjoy — or detest — both broods, with up to 1.5 million cicadas per acre.

“There will be cicada tourism this summer. I’ve already spoke with people from the U.K. and Japan who are planning trips to see the overlap,” said Kritsky, who has developed an app to keep track of the insects.

Cicadas’ impact on NJ

So what does it all mean for New Jersey and the rest of the tri-state area? Not too much this year, fortunately.

The next brood of cicadas isn’t expected to emerge from the ground in the Garden State until Summer 2025, though there may be some stragglers that come out a year early that you could see (and hear) then.

The timing of this year’s broods really depends on the weather. When the soil temperature gets to around 64 degrees, both will begin to emerge.

While experts say billions of the insects will be in the other parts of the country, the east coast will see far fewer. But with some broods as far north as Maryland, they will make an appearance somewhat close to the area.

But some drivers took dodging tolls to a new level in 2023, and now they’re going to have to pay for it.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced Monday the worst violators when it comes to toll evaders for last year — with the worst of the worst owing more than $200,000 in unpaid fines. That debt belongs to EM Padilla Trucking Corp of Weehawken, New Jersey, according to Port Authority police (PAPD).

The trucking company owed $201,358 in unpaid fees, topping the list by a solid margin. JRK Xpress Corp, of Reading, Pennsylvania, was second on the list, owing just over $185,000, PAPD said. Do 1 Do Right Services LLC, of Lodi, was third on the list at more than $141,000 in alleged unpaid fees.

A few of the offenders were seemingly not companies, but rather individuals who racked up huge totals. An Englewood resident was said to owe nearly $136,000, while a woman from Teaneck was just $1,000 below that. A total of six businesses or individuals were said to owe more than $100,000 in tolls (five of which were from New Jersey). A Bronx transport business also owed more than $86,000, according to PAPD.

The list of most prevalent alleged toll cheaters came as Port Authority announced it recovered more than $25 million from evaders in 2023, which the agency said was up 14 percent from the previous year.

Port Authority said it increased its enforcement efforts, which led to a 28 percent increase year-over-year in summonses related to toll evasion. Overall, nearly 6,000 toll evasion-related summonses were issued for the year, including more than 4,400 for obstructing, missing or fake license plates.

“With increased patrols and the deployment of more technology across our infrastructure, we will catch toll violators and they will pay what they owe,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “Tolls fund the critical infrastructure that stitch our region together, and drivers will not be able to skate by and steal.”

Efforts by NBC New York to contact EM Padilla Trucking Corp were unsuccessful.

According to the American Heart Association, research shows that the exertion from shoveling snow may lead to an increased risk of having a heart attack.

So, what’s the deal? Why could shoveling snow lead to a heart attack? According to the National Safety Council, here are many reasons that can contribute to this.

The act of shoveling snow can prove to be an activity that puts one’s body into a state of sudden exertion, particularly if you are repetitively moving heavy snow after being sedentary and inactive for months. This winter chore can put a strain on one’s cardiovascular system which can lead to a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest, the National Safety Council says.

Add to this additional strain the cold weather, which can increase one’s heart rate and blood pressure, and it can be a potentially dangerous mix. This is because the cold weather can make blood clot more easily and can constrict arteries, which in turn decreases blood supply.

These realities can put even healthy people in the path of danger, but more so people over the age of 40, have an underlying health condition and those who tend to live an inactive lifestyle.

The National Safety Council recommends the following tips to decrease your chances of hurting yourself or suffering a potentially fatal cardiac episode:

• Do not shovel snow after eating or while smoking;
• Take it slow, there is no need to rush;
• Stretch before you begin;
• Shovel fresh, powdery snow since it tends to be lighter and you won’t put as much strain on your body compared to shoveling heavier, wetter snow;
• Push the snow out of the way with your shovel instead of lifting the snow when clearing it;
• If you end up lifting snow, either use a small shovel or only use a portion of the snow (in other words, only partially fill the shovel);
• Lift the snow with your legs and not your back;
• Do not overwork your body to the point of exhaustion;
• Become familiar with the signs of a heart attack. Stop immediately and call 911 if you’re experiencing any of them;
• If you have a history of heart disease, ask a doctor if you should shovel.

The bodies of 51-year-old Ruben Alarcon and 52-year-old Andrewa Alarcon, along with their two young daughters, were found by members of the Union County Sherriff’s Department around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Sheriff’s officers went to the house to serve an eviction notice on the Lincrest Terrace home that was in foreclosure, and made the grisly discovery soon after arriving.

Each family member suffered gunshot wounds, according to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office. A joint investigation by the prosecutor’s office and Union police determined that the mother, Andrea, had shot her husband and two daughters before turning the gun on herself.

The weapon used to carry out the grisly killings was found near her body when authorities arrived at the home, law enforcement officials said.

“In tragedies of this magnitude, there are no words that can heal, nor explanations that can serve to make sense of them to the public. Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of these victims and to the Union community as a whole in the wake of this horrible event”, said Union County Prosecutor William Daniel.

Neighbors believed the girls were under the age of 10.

The house was sold at a sheriff’s sale for $322,000 back in November. The family that lived there should have been out of the house, and had 60 days to vacate the property after the sale or face eviction.

One neighbor said the family had been living at the home for 15 years.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.

The third winter storm in roughly a week is set to hit the tri-state area Friday — all before ushering in the coldest air the region has seen in nearly a year.

As extreme winter weather and low temperatures threaten much of the country in the upcoming days, it is important to make sure family, friends and neighbors are safe. This concern should also extend to our four-legged, furry friends.

Because the extreme cold also impacts animals, the ASPCA wants to remind pet owners that these weather conditions can be extremely dangerous to pets.

“With freezing temperatures and an Arctic air mass expected to impact various regions across the country this upcoming weekend, it is vital to prepare our pets for potentially hazardous weather conditions and safeguard their health and wellbeing,” Susan Anderson, director of Disaster Response for the ASPCA National Field Response team, said in a press release. Taking precautions such as keeping pets safely indoors and ensuring they have essential items including extra food and water in case of power outages can be lifesaving in dangerous conditions.”

To keep pets safe during severe winter weather, the ASPCA recommends keeping these tips in mind:

• If it is too cold for you, it is probably the same for your pet. During inclement weather, pets should be kept warm and safe indoors. But if you must take them outdoors, pet owners should consider dressing short-haired and smaller dogs in a coat and booties when taking short walks. Pet owners should also make sure that their furry companions have a warm, dry place to sleep that is off the floor with extra bedding, as well as away from drafts. If you see discoloration, swelling, or skin ulcers — which are all signs of frostbite — contact a veterinarian immediately.
• After each walk, make sure to towel-dry your pet and clean their feet and stomach. Pets may step on ice, salt, and chemicals during winter. This can be, not only painful, but also potentially hazardous if ingested. Remember to check for cracks in their paw pads or redness between the toes. Pet owners should consider using booties on their pets.
• Have a portable pet emergency kit ready in case you’re trapped in your home or are forced to evacuate. This kit should include essential items such as medical records, water, water bowls, pet food, and any necessary pet medications to last at least seven days. Pets should also wear collars and tags with up-to-date identification information. Remember, you should NEVER leave your pet behind if you need to evacuate. If your home is without power, leave your pet (along with detailed instructions for their care and veterinarian contact information) with a friend or family member.
• All pets, especially small and exotic pets, will need more food and water on cold days, especially if power goes out. If you’re running low on pet food and cannot restock, here is a list of common foods that you can mix with kibble or serve alone for a dog or cat meal.
• Be prepared in the event you lose electricity. Figure out in advance which rooms in your home are safe havens (rooms should be clear of windows, such as utility rooms, bathrooms, and basements). Fill up bathtubs and sinks ahead of time to ensure that you have access to water during a power outage. You should not have candles around pets — instead use battery powered lanterns, flashlights, etc. Never use propane-fueled or other portable outdoor heaters indoors.
• During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes seek shelter underneath cars. Bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to give them a chance to escape.
• Horses require special care during the winter including additional food, lukewarm water, and access to adequate shelter out of the elements. Here are more tips on caring for horses in inclement weather.

When dealing with severe winter weather, the National Weather Service also provides tips on how to keep pets safe. Among the tips are:

• To never let your dog off their leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm. Dogs can lose their scent and easily become. Make sure that dogs always wear their ID tags since more dogs are lost during the winter than during any other season. 
• Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. Keep pets indoors in possible, especially if they are sensitive to the cold weather due to age, illness or breed type.